Uninor re-brands itself as Telenor in India

Telecom service provider Uninor on Wednesday announced it has rebranded itself as Telenor in India.

"Uninor is now Telenor. This rebranding exercise shows our commitment to the customers and the stakeholders in this country. India is a tough market. We are taking a the stand that we will continue to develop ourselves," said Telenor Group's head of Asia region Morten Karlsen Sorby.

The company will be spending around Rs.100 crore on the rebranding exercise.

Norway-based Telenor entered India in 2009. Initially it had a joint venture with realty major Unitech, which however exited in 2012. The company subsequently started operating with the name of Telewings, and in 2014, Telenor bought 100 percent stake in the company.

"We now have 47.55 million customers. We have broke even in India within four years of our operations. It is a mass market for us," said Telenor India CEO Vivek Sood.

"We are modernizing the entire network for advanced technology solutions.. it is preparing to offer high-speed Internet services for mass-market consumers in future," he added.

Asked about the company's plans to buy more spectrum, Sood said: "We are looking for more spectrum. It is essential for taking the company to the next level. We can acquire that spectrum through auction, trading, sharing or merger and acquisition."

He also mentioned that the company is becoming network for fourth generation (4G) telephony service.

Sood also mentioned that the company has 24,000 towers in the country, out of which 5,000 will be modernised by the end of this year.

India contributes 6 percent of the global revenue of the company and 12 percent of the Asian revenue.